Stane International (Earth-616)
| Aliases = Stark International Stark West Stark Industries | Status = Defunct | Identity = Public | Universe = Earth-616 | BaseOfOperations = Formerly Stark Enterprises Headquarters, Silicon Valley, California; Stane International Headquarters, Flushing, Queens, Long Island, New York City, New York. | OrganizationLeaders = Formerly owned by Stark Industries, Hammer Industries, Obadiah Stane (LMD), Obadiah Stane, Tony Stark, Howard Stark, Howard Stark, Sr. Isaac Stark, Jr. Isaac Stark, Sr. | CurrentMembers = | FormerMembers = Anton Vanko, Artemus Pithinis, Bambina Arbogast, Clytemnestra Erwin, Edward Stark, Forge, Happy Hogan, Howard Stark, Jr., Howard Stark, Sr., Isaac Stark, Jr., Isaac Stark, Sr., Jacob Fury (LMD), Jim Rhodes, Kevin O'Brien, Maria Carbonell-Stark, Morley Erwin, Obadiah Stane, Obadiah Stane (LMD), Pepper Potts, Simon Gilbert, Tony Stark, Toshiro Kanada, Vic Martinelli, Victoria Snow, Yvette Avril | Allies = | Enemies = | Origin = Manufacturing company founded by Isaac Stark, Sr. | PlaceOfFormation = Stark Industries, Flushing, Queens, Long Island, New York City, New York | PlaceOfDefunction = Stane International, Flushing, Queens, Long Island, New York City, New York | Creators = Stan Lee; Robert Bernstein; Jack Kirby | First = (Unnamed) (First Named) | Last = Iron Man Vol 1 301 | Overview = Stane International, formerly known as Stark Industries and Stark International was a manufacturing and engineering company based in the United States of America but operating with worldwide interests. Founded in the 19th Century by Isaac Stark, Sr. and later carried into the Modern Age by members of the Stark family, the company was later subjected to a hostile takeover operated by corporate raider Obadiah Stane under Tony Stark's chairmanship and then renamed Stane International. After Obadiah Stane's death, the company was first controlled by the S.H.I.E.L.D. Executive Board through a Life-Model Decoy of Obadiah Stane, and later acquired by Justin Hammer's Hammer Industries, being finally reabsorbed back by Tony Stark through his new business entity, Stark Enterprises. Stark then ended up shutting down Stane International due to the company's previous illegal activities under Hammer Industries' ownership. | HistoryText = 19th Century The company's origins date back to the 19th Century, when Dr. Isaac Stark Sr. turned his manufacturing and engineering concern into a global industrial superpower, developing new technologies that helped to redefine innovative security measures for the industrial age. After Isaac Stark's death, the company passed through several hands, including his son Isaac Stark, Jr. and grandson Howard Stark, Sr. 20th Century Stark Industries gained growing prosperity under the leadership of Howard Stark Senior's son, Howard Stark, Jr., who had obtained full control of the company after his brother, Edward, had sold his shares. Appointed President of Stark Industries, Howard Stark successfully turned the company into the world leader in munitions development, while also branching out into several other scientific fields, including aeronautics, robotics, micro-technology and fringe science; since that, Stark Industries had its corporate offices in the portion of New York City's Queens province located in Long Island. Hercules was an initial investors in Stark Industries. The original investment was $100,000, but now when the size of the investment was calculated, a second line of zeroes was required. In early 1960s, Howard Stark helped founding a global espionage agency named S.H.I.E.L.D., with Stark Industries providing weapons, munitions, technology and vehicles, including the agency's mobile headquarters, known as the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier. Howard relied upon the genius of his adopted son, Anthony, for many of the company's advancements, even appointing him Vice President of Development. Tony, however, demonstrated little interest in Stark Industries' day-to-day management, and industrial rival Republic Oil & Gas Company, in order to have Tony selling them his shares, arranged for the death of Howard and Maria Stark in a car accident. Tony, sole heir to his father's assets, was promoted to President, taking full control of Stark Industries and refusing Republic Oil's selling offer. Modern Age Tony Stark then continued to aggressively develop new technologies and innovations, leading Stark Industries to become a major contractor for both corporate and government concerns. While personally overseeing the using of his manufactured munitions and weapons by the U.S. Army in the Middle East, Tony Stark was nearly killed by an exploding land mine; captured by some revolutionary terrorists, he was saved by scientist Ho Yinsen, a fellow prisoner. Stark then developed a suit of sturdy body armor that not only saved his injured heart, but also enabled him to escape imprisonment. Upon returning to the United States, Tony modified the crude battlesuit, ultimately building what would soon become the recognizable armor of Iron Man. Back in the United States, Tony proudly kept Stark Industries running, employing Virginia 'Pepper' Potts as his personal Executive Assistant and ex-boxer Harold 'Happy' Hogan as chaffeur. Requiring the Iron Man Armor's chest plate (actually an Arc Reactor) to being kept alive, Stark introduced Iron Man as its bodyguard, starting to fund and finance the Avengers' activities (a superheroes group which he, as Iron Man, had founded), even setting his family's Manhattan manor as the Avengers' headquarters, known as the Avengers Mansion. Stark also mantained his father's contract with S.H.I.E.L.D., producing equipment, weapons and vehicles for the organization, eventually becoming part of its Supreme International Council as Head of Special Weapons Division. Under Tony Stark's leadership, Stark Industries had several lucrative contracts with many financial institutions, but, despite his skill as an inventor and businessman, Stark's playboy image didn't sit well with many military and political figures, including senator Harrington Byrd, who frequently clashed with Tony over how he ran Stark Industries and performed under government contracts. Stark International After driving the company to new heights year after year, Tony Stark eventually suffered a crisis of conscience and declared that Stark would no longer produce weapons for S.H.I.E.L.D., the Government, or any other parties. As Stark Industries continued to change its public persona and strengthened the corporation's foreign interests, it became known as Stark International. Stane International As part of his ongoing efforts to destroy Tony Stark, corporate raider Obadiah Stane brought Stark International to the edge of financial ruin. On top of the physical and psychological torments heaped upon him, Tony was eventually bought out by Stane, and Stark International was renamed in favor of its new owner. After Obadiah Stane's downfall and death, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Executive Board ended up controlling the company through an advanced Life-Model Decoy of Stane. The company was then acquired by Tony Stark's rival Justin Hammer's Hammer Industries, and later reabsorbed back by Tony Stark's latest corporate entity, Stark Industries, after Tony forced Justin Hammer to turn the assets back over to him. Stane International then became a subsidiary of Stark Enterprises. Stark Enterprises later shutted down Stane International due to its previous illegal activities performed while under Justin Hammer's ownership. Executive Staff Stark Industries * Anthony 'Tony' Stark - Owner, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board * Anton Vanko - Head of Electrical Research * Edward Stark - Shareholder and Member of the Board of Directors * Forge - Engineer * Harold 'Happy' Hogan - Chaffeur / Bodyguard * Howard Stark, Jr. - Owner, President and Chairman of the Board * Howard Stark, Sr. - Owner * Isaac Stark, Jr. - Owner * Isaac Stark, Sr. - Founder and Owner * Jacob Fury (LMD) - Engineer * Kevin O'Brien - Researcher * Maria Carbonell-Stark - Member of the Board of Directors * Simon Gilbert - Chairman of the Board * Toshiro Kanada - Manager of Stark Industries Southeast Asia Facility * Victoria Snow - Manager of Stark Industries Cincinnati Division * Virginia 'Pepper' Potts - Secretary and Executive Assistant Stark International * Anthony 'Tony' Stark - President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board * Artemus Pithins - Public Relations Chief * Bambina Arbogast - Executive Assistant * Clytemnestra Erwin - Scientist * Harold 'Happy' Hogan - Security Chief * James 'Rhodey' Rhodes - Pilot * Morley Erwin - Scientist * Vic Martinelli - Security Chief * Yvette Avril - Vice President, French Division Stane International * Obadiah Stane - President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board * Obadiah Stane (LMD) - President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board * Vic Martinelli - Security Chief Locations and Facilities * Stark Industries Corporate Headquarters - Flushing, Queens, Long Island, New York ** First Appearance: * Stark Industries Missile Launch Facility - Long Island, New York ** First Appearance: * Stark Industries Westchester Facility - Westchester County, New York ** First Appearance: * Stark Industries Electric Plant, Building #4 - Queens or Manhattan, New York City, New York ** First Appearance: * Stark Industries Aerospace Division - Detroit, Michigan ** First Appearance: * Stark Industries Cincinnati Division - Cincinnati, Ohio ** First Appearance: * Stark International French Division - Paris, France ** First Appearance: * Stark Industries Far East Division - Hong Kong, China ** First Appearance: * Stark Enterprises Headquarters - Silicon Valley, North of Los Angeles, California ** First Appearance: Other Properties * Tony Stark's Washington Cottage - Washington, D.C. ** First Appearance: * Tony Stark's Manhattan Penthouse - Manhattan, New York City, New York ** First Appearance: * Tony Stark's Private Estate - Long Island, New York ** First Appearance: * Villa Mi Casa - Caribbean Sea ** First Appearance: Subsidiaries and Divisions * Maria Stark Foundation - First appeared in . Technology Developed * Lightweight Mortars - Tony Stark provided lightweight mortars to the US Army in for use in Vietnam. They look suspiciously like M-79 Grenade Launchers. * Jet-Powered Roller Skates - Collapsible skates that can be clamped to the sole of a boot with an ordinary skate key and are driven by miniature transistorized motors. They were developed for use by the US Military. It was envisioned that an entire infantry division equipped with these could transport itself along the highway at up to 60 mph without the use of trucks. Demonstrated to the US Army in . * Atomic Naval Cannons - Designed to fire a nuclear salvo more than 500 miles, revolutionizing battleship firepower. (Mentioned in ) * Flesh-Healing Serum - Serum that closes any open wound in two seconds with synthetic liquid tissue. (Mentioned in ) * Radiation Resistant alloy - Material capable of resisting radiation for use in space capsules. (Mentioned in ) * Burp Guns - .50 Caliber sub-machine guns capable of firing explosive cartridges at rates of up to 1,000 spm. (Mentioned in ) * Disintegrator Ray - Flashlight-sized device capable of projecting a ray that could instantaneously vaporize a two-foot thick section of reinforced concrete wall. Prototype demonstrated to the US Army in . * Y-69 Rocket - An experimental three-man rocket first tested in . * Anti-Gravity Ray - Experimental device capable of negating the effects of gravity around whatever its beam hit. Was powerful enough to lift an entire factory off of its foundation! Demonstrated to the Department of Defense, then stolen by the Black Widow in . The only working model was destroyed by Iron Man. * Observer Missiles - Remotely controlled missiles equipped with surveillance equipment. Used by the US Military to take pictures behind enemy lines in Vietnam in . * Uranus II Rocket - seen in . * Moon Missile - Prototype rocket seen in . *'Mangler Missile' - Anti-Missile missile attaches itself to an enemy missile, taking control of it. First tested in . *'Mini-Submarine' - A one-man scout sub that can out run and out flank almost any torpedo. First tested by Iron Man in . Destroyed during battle between Iron Man and Attuma. *'Jupiter Landing Vehicle' - code named JLV for use on the surface and gravity of the planet Jupiter. Debuted in . | Equipment = | Transportation = | Weapons = | Notes = | Trivia = | Links = }} Category:Companies